Shinjuku, Japan—-
Inside the ceremony venue, everyone watched as a countdown began.
〈Time Until Raid: 1:00:00〉
"Only an hour until it begins," Zaria thought. "Man, we're gonna slay this! I hope!"
Rika brought the four into a huddle. "How are we all feeling?"
"Tense," Han admitted.
"Pumped!" Zaria declared.
"What are we doing again?" Rei asked.
The others stared at her.
"I thought this was a tea party," she said. "But I don't see any tea…"
Everyone watched as Hayate passed the microphone to Marin. "Now, our Vice-Director will explain the rules!"
Marin sighed. "Rules are simple. Clear commissions. Score points. Don't lose. If you're forced to fight each other, no maiming or killing is allowed. Instant disqualification."
"They're lucky," Zaria scoffed. "If they touch Mr. Nyugawa, I can't gut 'em like a fish."
Han slapped his forehead. "They're our colleagues."
"Not mine!"
Omariro walked over to the table that held his group, but Atsushi grabbed his shoulder.
"Things have changed since you left, old geezer. We Kaitansha no longer need you."
Omariro batted Atsushi's hand away with his staff. "Good. Less trouble to me."
Atsushi gave a menacing chuckle. "That old pride. Just how I remember. Go all out, old man. I want to crush you at your best."
"Okay."
As Omariro joined his party, Atsushi bumped into Yuka, who was conversing with some of her division members.
"Ah. You," she noticed. "The talk with Nyugawa went well?"
"Well enough," he replied. "The old man's still packing a ton of power. He's no mere kitten like the children he caters to."
"That was obvious," Yuka snorted. "You don't drop off once you reach certain heights. But that doesn't mean he's invincible. I plan to exploit his weaknesses. The top spot is mine."
"Confident," Atsushi complimented. "But just like ice, it shall crack."
"We shall see."
On the other side of the venue, Mizuki was busy sitting quietly, while Kaoru continued nudging her, a bottle of wine in her hand. "Hey, Mizuki! Taste this! It's the Director's favorite!"
"Can't," Mizuki shot down. "Too young."
"Aww, not like your mother's watching! See! Look at me! I've already had 5 of these!"
Mizuki knocked the bottle out of Kaoru's hand with a swipe of her hand. "That's enough. You can barely stand up."
"Hey! Why the heck did you do that?"
She scurried off to pick up her wine bottle. Meanwhile, Gakuto and Kōichi were arm wrestling in the corner, neither giving an inch.
"For a Tōshi user with buff arms, you really aren't that strong," Kōichi taunted.
"That's because my strength buff isn't in my arms!" Gakuto laughed.
"Right, right," Kōichi said, rolling his eyes. "And here it comes…"
"It's in my NOGGIN!"
Gakuto headbutted the table, splitting it in half. Kōichi sighed and got up. "No wonder women don't like you."
"Hey! Take that back, kid!"
"Nope."
Zaria watched them all. "Sir, are they really the strongest in the organization? Are they anywhere near you?"
Omariro put a hand on Zaria's head. "Tough. But flawed."
"What's that mean?"
"You see soon."
"I'm not worried," Zaria assured. "You're the strongest man in the world!"
"Yeah!" the other kids agreed.
Omariro sat down. "Not wrong."
As soon as he sat, a crowd of fans and reporters began swarming him, cameras in his face.
"Mr. Nyugawa, is it really you?"
"What have you been doing all these years?"
"How'd you find these kids? And who's the barefoot girl?"
"Can we take a selfie?"
Zaria broke in between them. "Hey, hey! Back off!"
"Yeah, get lost!" Rika added. "This is our old man, not yours!"
Han struggled to break free of the crowd. "Damn…my ribs…my ribs…! Go fawn over someone else! We're occupied!"
Rei poked a few of them. "Hehe! Sparkly!"
"Mr. Nyugawa!"
"Mr. Nyugawa, what happened in the Okinawa Dungeon?"
"Can we get an official statement for our blog?"
Zaria summoned her spear. "Hey! Didn't I say back off?"
"Zaria!" Rika whispered. "You can't hit them with that!"
"Sure can! It's got two sides! One for stabbing, one for punting!"
"Hey, where'd Nyugawa go?"
The spot where Omariro was sitting was completely vacant, with only a cup of coffee left behind.
"He ditched us," Han noted. "Super awesome, but man, why'd he leave us with the crowd?"
A reporter held her camera up. "Search the area! He couldn't have gotten far!"
They rushed out the door, and Omariro reappeared in his seat next to Zaria. "Idiot news."
"Sir, you're back!"
Omariro stood up, cracking his back. "We go now. Prepare. Chiyoda Dungeon waits."
〈Time Until Raid: 30:00〉
The kids got up. "Sir, yes sir!"
As Omariro teleported them away, a guest holding a newspaper to their face briefly watched.
"Perfect. With Nyugawa occupied, they'll never see me coming."
The man quickly vanished, just as Marin walked by, lifting an eyebrow.
"Hmm," she wondered. "Something felt off just now, but what?"
She shook it off and returned to her duties, joining Hayate's side as the clock counted down.
Chiyoda, Japan—-
〈Time Until Raid: 1:00〉
All seven divisions and their members took their positions in the streets of Chiyoda as the cameras ran and the broadcast began. Hayate and Marin stood nearby.
"In one minute, the gate will open!" Hayate announced. "Be ready for anything! You won't know what floor you end up on, and you won't be able to leave until you clear it!"
Rika took a few deep breaths. "No way we get some super hard floor, right?"
"I hope we do," Zaria chuckled. "Then we can get to the top quicker."
"Whatever works best, I'm down," Han shrugged. "Sir, what should we do?"
Omariro tapped his staff on the ground. "Defeat opponents. Prove worth."
Han scratched his head. "Okay…got it!"
〈Time Until Raid: 0:30〉
"We trust your word, sir," Zaria affirmed.
"Always," Rika nodded.
"Even if it doesn't make logical sense," Han interjected. "But hey, that's why you're the boss!"
"♪ He's the strongest! ♪" Rei sang.
"Kids stay close," Omariro ordered. "No fear. No doubt. Foes won't play fair. Win come hard."
〈Time Until Raid: 0:10〉
They all took a deep breath.
"Okay," Zaria said. "Whatever the hell floor we get, here we come."
〈Time Until Raid: 0:00〉
"It will come down to you and me, Nyugawa," Atsushi promised. "And I will win. No matter the cost!"
"Good luck!" Hayate shouted.
The street beneath them shifted into a gate, and everyone fell through.
"AHHH!"
Each division was separated, scattered throughout the floors.
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1.〉
"Come on!" Kaoru groaned. "We only get the first floor?"
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 17.〉
"Could be worse," Kōichi remarked. "But I'll need to finish this fast."
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 58.〉
"Acceptable," Mizuki noted. "This should have a Tier 2 Commission."
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 164.〉
"Yes!" Gakuto cheered. "Already in the hundreds! Luck is on our side today, men!"
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 341.〉
"Pitiful," Yuka scoffed. "They couldn't send us to the thousands? We aren't little children."
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,931.〉
"A torrid start," Atsushi mocked. "Nyugawa is sure to get ahead if I don't move fast."
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,320.〉
"Finally!" Zaria gasped. "All that falling made me sick!"
Rika covered her mouth. "Don't bring it up!"
"Right, sorry, Rika."
Omariro's group looked around, and the floor they were on was a large desert, with blistering heat and a small village in the distance. A giant light blue beam rose from the village into the sky, with a UI popping up in front of them.
〈Waypoint: 578m〉
"What's that over there?" Rika pointed.
"Waypoint, right?" Zaria recalled. "Don't they have those in the Raid Dungeons?"
Omariro nodded. "Girl knowledge high. Good."
Zaria blushed. "Duh!"
"So we move to it, right?" Han wondered.
"Yes."
With a tap of his staff, Omariro teleported them to the front of the village, where they found a young dwarf girl dressed in tribal clothing waving.
"Hunters! Hunters! Over here!"
The party shared a look, but Omariro stepped forward. "Girl have trouble. Explain issue."
"My name is Sunako! I'm from Bōsa Nanzoku!" she explained. "My parents went to purchase goods from the Sakyū Kita Oashisu-zoku, but they never came back! It's been a week! I'm super worried!"
"Girl need parents," Omariro commented. "Girl want us to find."
She nodded. "Can you go check? The Sakyū Hoku is right along that path! It should take you to their village!"
〈Commission Accepted: *Locate* Sunako's Parents. *Tier 2* Commission.〉
"Girl no worry," Omariro assured. "Parents come back. We find."
"Thank you so much, mister!"
Omariro returned to his group, who were beginning to sweat.
"So we need to find that girl's parents?" Rika asked. "Is that all?"
"Yes," Omariro answered. "Then commission complete."
"But why is it Tier 2?"
"More than meets eye," Omariro warned. "Sharp senses, clear mind. We move now."
Omariro began walking along the path, and the party followed. Sand blew in their faces, and the bright blue sky slowly became orange as they walked.
"Sir, I think I found something!" Han announced. "Look, footprints!"
The group gathered around Han, who pointed to a pair of tracks that led far into the distance. "They go, but they don't come back."
"Can you scan them and see who they belong to?" Zaria suggested.
"I'll try. Cube: Scan Tracks!"
[Scanning…]
The cube dinged.
[Scan Complete. Tracks are of *Dwarf Origin.*]
"Just like I thought," Han mused. "These had to have been that girl's parents."
"Then this is our lead," Rika acknowledged.
"Continue," Omariro commanded. "Eyes open."
Rei held out her hand. "Here, let me cool you guys off!"
A dazzling shield of moonlight surrounded the party.
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Gekkō no Gokō!"
As soon as it formed, the heat immediately died down, replaced by a calming cool, and the kids all collapsed and sighed in relief.
"You could do this shit all along? Why didn't you pull it out earlier?" Zaria demanded.
"You didn't ask!" Rei giggled.
"Much…better…" Rika sighed. "Can we stay like this forever?"
"Time short," Omariro interrupted. "Girl, move shield."
"Okay!" Rei obliged.
Under the cover of Rei's moonlight shield, they followed the tracks as Han scanned them. After what seemed to be forever, they reached a calm oasis, where a tent had already been set up.
"I think we've located a clue!" Han announced. "Look! That campfire is still smoking."
Han went over to inspect, touching the wood and pulling his hand back immediately. "Ow! Still hot, too!"
"Han Jisoo," Rika taunted. "Smart enough to discover clues, stupid enough to touch them."
Zaria's eye caught something else. "Look!"
There was a slain boar nearby. Zaria prodded it with her foot. "Who'd kill this thing and leave it? Shouldn't they take it for food?"
Han suddenly paused. "Wait, what if whoever killed it wasn't able to cook it? What if they didn't have the time to?"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, what if this whole thing is a trap—-?"
Suddenly, a chain wrapped around Han, sending a tingle through his spine.
"Crap! They've got me! Help!"
He was dragged away into the distance.
"Han!"
Two more wrapped around Zaria and Rika.
"The hell?" Zaria blurted out.
"I can't move!" Rika cried.
They were dragged off as well, the sounds of motors following them. Rei looked around. "Ooh, is this part of the game?"
A chain lunged for Omariro, who easily caught it and pulled it forward, revealing a large bounty hunter in tattered armor and a mask.
"Answers," Omariro demanded. "Kids. Where?"
The hunter remained silent, as another barrage of chains wrapped around Omariro.
"I see."
Omariro sliced the chains with his blade, ducking as metal darts fired his way. Rei walked around, aloof, bumping into a hunter van.
"Oops! Sorry!"
The driver trapped her in a net, but Omariro sliced it in half. "Keep distance, girl! They hunt!"
Another dart soared for his head, but he deflected it with an arrow from his bow.
"Screw this," the driver moaned. "We already got three. Let's split!"
He drove past, collecting his partner, as other vans drove off as well. Rei looked toward Omariro.
"Mr. Omariro, what do we do now?"
"We find team," he said. "And we find girl parents."
〈Waypoint: 2000m〉
"Journey starts, now."
——